Ghosts That Never Were
by liketolaugh
Summary: There is a world where Haruhi never existed.
1. A World Alone

**A/N: Yes, I am starting ANOTHER new story. This is probably ill-advised... I don't really care. Oh, and the style is way off standard, I'm warning you now.**

**Title: Ghosts That Never Were**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Friendship/Paranormal**

**Warnings: Possible OOC, confusing circumstances**

**Summary: There is a world where Haruhi never existed.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, OHSHC is not mine.**

* * *

Tamaki shot his driver a grin. "Thanks, Arakan," he called over his shoulder.

Arakan waved back and pulled away, driving down the road. Tamaki knew he wouldn't be back 'til after school, or when Tamaki called.

It was the first day of the new school year, his second year of high school. He grinned again. It was also the start of the second year that his Ouran High School Host Club had run, a fact that he was very proud of.

He and Kyoya had started the club in their last year of middle school, beginning with Takashi Morinozuka, Mitskuni Haninozuka, and Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin. Those members remained even now, each one having stuck with the club, and he liked to think they enjoyed it, too.

He entered the school's doors and looked around at the sea of uniforms. There wasn't a scholarship student this year, not that that was anything unusual, so _everyone_ was a member of the elite, and thus, everyone had a uniform.

He grinned broadly as he spotted Kyoya and made his way over to the black-haired boy. "Hey, Kyoya!" he greeted, waving.

Kyoya glanced up over his glasses and sighed. "Hello, Tamaki," he returned, almost resignedly.

"Did you have a good summer?" asked Tamaki, unbothered by the less-than-enthusiastic response. Kyoya didn't answer, hoping that the other boy would get distracted and forget all about the question, and for once, his wish was granted.

"H-hi, Tamaki," a girl greeted shyly, brushing brown hair out of her face. "Um… Is the Host Club still going to meet this year?"

Tamaki bowed low to her, taking her hand in his and smiling easily. "Why, yes, my princess, it is. After all, there are still lovely ladies like you to entertain."

She giggled and blushed, looking almost as if she was about to faint. He smiled at her and let go of her hand, letting her stumble back toward her friends, swaying dizzily. He chuckled and turned back to Kyoya.

"I see the summer has not dulled your skills," Kyoya noted drolly, making a note in his notebook.

Tamaki grinned at him. "But of course! The beauty of the summer can only increase my adoration, and therefore, my admiration of the beauty of the ladies at this school, which has no end, competing with even my radiance!"

Kyoya wasn't sure what Tamaki said after that; he'd stopped listening by then.

Finally, Tamaki wound down to a halt just as the warning bell rang, when he blanched and ran toward class. Kyoya – who had made certain to move just enough so that they were standing in front of his own classroom – just walked in.

Lunchtime came and Tamaki sat down with his meal, casting a broad smile at the girls, who swooned, unable to take their eyes off him.

He chuckled quietly and glanced around as he began to eat. Kyoya was beside him, half eating his lunch and half doing something with his laptop, while Mori and Honey were in a corner, Honey smiling to himself as he ate the slice of cake he let himself have at lunchtime. In another corner, Hikaru and Kaoru had taken some time to themselves, playing their game.

Occasionally, a girl would get up enough courage to approach, shy and uncertain, and in return they would receive a few minutes of entertainment before they were – in the most inconspicuous way possible – sent off again, happy as a clam.

Tamaki smiled again and turned back to his meal.

It was a far sight better than things had gone when they first started out, and this way, everyone was at least a little happy. Really, that was all he could ask for.

It was hours later when Tamaki swaggered into the Host Club, grinning.

"Alright, men!" he called out, making the twins look up, almost disinterestedly, from their game, and causing Honey to look up, puzzled, from talking to Mori. "It's time to get ready!"

"Why?" Hikaru grumped, looking back down. "All we have to do is go stand in front of the door."

"There's no theme today, Tama-chan," Honey agreed, kicking his feet a little as he clutched Usu-chan to himself. Mori nodded once in agreement, face neutral.

Tamaki deflated and pushed his forefingers together uncertainly. "Well… I thought that…"

"No, Tamaki," Kyoya said firmly, not looking up from his laptop.

Tamaki flew into the corner.

It wasn't until a quarter of an hour later, when the Host Club opened, that he stood again, meeting the others at the door and taking his place in the middle. He put on a smile as the doors were pushed open and, together with the rest of the Host Club, chorused the welcome.

But, just beside him, he heard another voice, one that didn't belong to any member of the Host Club.

_"Welcome, ladies."_

* * *

**And that's all very mysterious, off to an OK start. It's short, but alright, I think. Please review and let me know what you think!**

**Edit: Fixed timeline error. Thanks to Guest for pointing it out. Argghhh.**


	2. Voice in the Back of Your Mind

**A/N: Ack! I'm sorry this took so long to update. My priorities have been switching around a bit and I had a hard time with this chapter. On the bright side, the next one's already done and will be up before too long. Hope you like this one!**

**Title: Ghosts That Never Were**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Friendship/Paranormal**

**Warnings: Possible OOC, confusing circumstances**

**Summary: There is a world where Haruhi never existed.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, OHSHC is not mine.**

* * *

Together, Hikaru and Kaoru grinned at the girls before them, watching them breathlessly. Most of the hosts liked their guests to participate. Kyoya claimed the girls liked it. For Honey, that meant being fed and fawned over.

For them, it was the Which One is Hikaru game.

No one ever asked why it was never the Which One is Kaoru game.

Neither of them felt like telling.

"Which one is Hikaru?" they asked together, plopping a hat on each of their heads.

_"You're Hikaru,"_ a voice whispered in Hikaru's ear. He started and glanced over, but there was no one. Every girl had her brow furrowed in concentration, not one looking for confirmation, not one appearing expectant.

No one had spoken.

Kaoru noticed, though, and tilted his head to frown at his twin, asking a silent question. Hikaru shook his head minutely, still frowning, and then one girl tentatively pointed at Kaoru. "You're Hikaru?" she asked, more than said.

Both of them broke into wide grins. "Wrong!" they chorused, all too delighted.

Hikaru all but forgot about the little voice.

* * *

Kyoya frowned down at his notebook, going over his calculations again. Then he scowled, snapped his book shut, and looked up to Tamaki, who was looking at him hopefully. "Tamaki, we do _not _have enough to be able to throw the girls a _costume ball."_

Tamaki wilted at the disdain in his voice at the last two words, and Kyoya lasted for all of three seconds before he sighed and continued.

"Were we to do this, we would have to-"

Tamaki didn't let him finish, jumping up with a beam and practically bouncing with excitement. "We're doing it!" he crowed, beyond pleased.

Kyoya sighed again, the breath rattling with exasperation, but a hint of a smile tried to tug at the corner of his mouth. He didn't let it.

_"You really aren't that mean after all, huh, Kyoya-sempai?"_

He didn't start, not quite, but he glanced to where he thought the voice had come from.

There was nothing.

Tamaki paused as he noticed his distraction, tilting his head at him. "Kyoya?" he questioned.

"Nothing, Tamaki," Kyoya assured him, pushing his glasses up, causing the light to hide his confused eyes. "Nothing at all." He turned back to Tamaki. "Now, _as I was saying…"_

* * *

Mori looked down at Honey, who was glancing back at the cake every few seconds, trying to not _completely _lose himself to it, and put his hand on his head in silent reassurance. Honey didn't stop looking, but Mori felt him relax slightly and smile up at him.

"Takashi, have you seen Usu-chan?" he questioned hopefully. The girls cooed.

Mori nodded once and silently reached beside him to pick up the little stuffed bunny and give it to Honey with a slight smile.

Honey beamed at him, squeezing Usu-chan tightly. "Thanks, Takashi!"

"Ah," Mori replied, looking back to the girls.

_"You really care a lot for Honey-sempai, don't you, Mori-sempai?"_

He frowned slightly, brow furrowing, and glanced to the side. Nothing.

Nothing… at least, nothing that he could see. He wondered a little, for a moment, no one noticing his moment of distraction, but he looked back as he felt Honey start to bounce.

"Takashi, Takashi!"

"Ah." Another time, then.

* * *

"Ah, my lady!" smiled Tamaki, leaning a little closer to the girl beside him. Her eyes widened slightly and she held her breath. "You as beautiful, as lovely as the rising sun-"

_"Do you ever stop?"_

He paused and glanced over, looking wounded.

Nothing.

A frown, confused and a little hurt, flashed across his face, before he looked back to the confused looking girl and continued, "Your hair is so smooth and lovely, princess," he finished, somewhat lamely.

She beamed anyway, blushing lightly. "Oh, Tamaki…"

_"I'll never understand these girls."_

This time, when Tamaki looked over, he just barely caught a glimpse of a girl with short brown hair, but when he tried to get a closer look, she vanished. He frowned.

"Tamaki?" the girl asked tentatively.

He turned back to her, mind not on his task, and smiled reassuringly. "Simply thinking of your beauty, princess."

"I'm sorry, your time with Tamaki is up," Kyoya interrupted, nodding for the next girl to come forward, eager as ever.

The girl wilted. "Okay," she murmured, gifting Tamaki with a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Always," Tamaki promised her dutifully.

_"Always, he says," _the short-haired girl grumbled.

* * *

**So things are heating up very slightly. I promise this snatches-of-scenes format will only last a few chapters, but for now it's really the only way to do this. Please review!**


	3. Flash in the Corner of Your Eye

**A/N: Hey! So this is, like... the _only _pre-written chapter I have for this month. So expect it to be the only one, because I'm already, like, five thousand words behind on my NaNovel. But I still have it, as it was the first thing I wrote for this story! Have at it! :D**

**Title: Ghosts That Never Were**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Friendship/Paranormal**

**Warnings: Possible OOC, confusing circumstances**

**Summary: There is a world where Haruhi never existed.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, OHSHC is not mine.**

* * *

Tamaki grinned at Kyoya. "Hey, Kyoya!"

Kyoya looked over at him, expression bored and pen tapping on his clipboard. "What is it, Tamaki?"

Tamaki opened his mouth to speak, but frowned instead, seeing a girl out of the corner of his eye, watching them. On the edge of his hearing, he heard, _"Why didn't you call him Mommy? You always call him Mommy."_

"What is it, Tamaki?" Kyoya repeated, irritated. He had heard nothing. "I don't have time for your idiotic games."

Tamaki opened his mouth again, but to his surprise, what came out wasn't 'Kyoya'. "Mommy, don't you think that we should give the girls flowers for White Day?"

Kyoya pushed his glasses up his nose and opened his mouth to reprimand Tamaki for this 'Mommy' nonsense, but his eyes caught a girl on the edge of sight, and he looked over. She vanished. But, he could have sworn that someone whispered in his ear, _"And this is where you call him 'Daddy', isn't it?"_

"Yes, _Daddy, _I suppose we should," Kyoya said instead, then frowned. Where had that come from? He never agreed with Tamaki's random ideas, and he _certainly _never addressed Tamaki as Daddy.

Out of the corner of both their eyes, they saw the girl smile, then flicker away. _"Ah. Back to normal, I suppose."_

* * *

Both twins spun each other around, then turned to the girls, placing hats on their heads. "Which one is Hikaru?" they asked in unison, grinning. The girls never got it; it was hilarious, honestly. Never got old.

_"The one on the left is Hikaru," _a voice murmured in their ears, right between them. _"And the one on the right is Kaoru."_

Both of them straightened up suddenly, startling the girls as their concentration shattered. "Huh?" they asked together. "Who said that?"

One girl gave them a puzzled look. "No one said anything," she said quietly, brown eyes concerned.

They turned to each other, frowning in confusion, and out of the corners of their eyes, they saw a girl with short brown hair and large chocolate eyes flicker into existence. _"It really isn't that hard to tell."_

Then turned toward her too late - she was gone. They looked at each other again and frowned. "Huh."

* * *

Mori, even more stone-faced than normal, looked at Honey with hidden concern as the other boy pouted, poking at the cast on his leg. He'd fallen down a staircase and broken it; now he couldn't jump around like he liked to.

"Aw, Honey-sempai, does it hurt?" fretted one girl, with honey-brown hair, hovering over the propped-up cast.

Honey shook his head fervently. "No!" he insisted, pouting. "I'm fine! See?" He tried to stand, but toppled over, right back onto Mori's lap. Mori placed a hand on his head and gave him a concerned look as Honey looked up with tearful eyes.

_"Honey-sempai will be alright, Mori-sempai. He's tougher than he looks."_

He looked up and saw a fleeting smile from a brown-haired, androgynous girl before she was gone. He frowned, but looked back to Honey.

"Mitskuni," he rumbled. "Be careful."

And he sat the boy back up, returning the cast to its place on the table, without further fuss.

Somehow, he didn't feel quite as worried as he had before.

* * *

Honey cast a mournful look at the remains last piece of cake he'd allotted himself that day, and then a longing look at more stored in the back. Mori, somehow sensing his dilemma, put a consoling hand on his head, not harsh, but firm enough for it to be a tangible comfort. Honey looked up at him with wide eyes, pouting slightly. Mori didn't give any sort of response that even Honey could discern.

_"One more can't hurt, Honey-sempai."_

He started slightly and looked up, but only caught a flash of brown eyes that vanished so quickly he wasn't even sure if they were real. He tilted his head, frowning, but then looked back to Mori and gave him a hopeful look.

A startled look only Honey could really see passed behind Mori's eyes before he offered the young-looking boy the smallest of smiles and an even smaller nod. Honey beamed and bounced up, heading straight for the back eagerly.

One more piece of cake couldn't hurt.

* * *

**Yeah, short. But this collection-of-scenes thing... eh. That's all I have to say, really. Eh. It's the best way to develop the plot at this point, but. EH. Please review, though. Now I will stop procrastinating and write today's words on NaNo...**


End file.
